72-year-old trust fund baby who retired at 50 tries to lecture younger relatives about work ethic, conveniently ignoring a life built on inherited monthly checks and zero work: ‘His sister in law asked: "Don't you have a trust fund?"’

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Etai Eshet • Editor
Dec 3, 2025 8:00 PM EST

Sometimes a family gathering feels like sitting in the audience at a standup show where the headliner never met a punchline. This family's weekend was a classic. Dad's cousin, now 2 years into his seventies but still living off the kind of trust fund most people think is a myth, launches into a full rant about how kids in their thirties are too lazy to make anything of themselves. Work ethic, discipline, all the quintessential notes, delivered from the comfort of a life that's been paid for, month after month, since he was barely old enough to rent a car.

And in a move that makes proud as a fan of cynicism, in this family they don't let this type of irony slide. The sister-in-law pipes up with what everyone is actually thinking: Don't you have a trust fund? And sure enough, it's true. The man started getting $1,500 a month for life as a teenager, an amount that, especially back then, meant free college, a mortgage that never kept him up at night, and the kind of choices most people never get unless they hit the lottery or inherit a small island.

Years of not doing much led this guy retire at 50 so it's only natural we should all be eager to learn from his extensive experience at nothing all and swallow the riff about hard work he learned on the way to golf?

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  • The hilariously out of touch nature some people are practically born into.

    An older man in glasses and a green polo shirt sits on a couch pointing forward with a stern, scolding expression. with a quote:"Kids these days don't know how to work hard enough to make good money"
    via Jelena Stanojkovic

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Nothing brings out generational wisdom like never having to sweat the rent. The kids may be tired, but nobody on that sofa has worked harder than a trust fund running itself.

  • This weekend, my dad sat down with a number of his relatives, including a cousin of his.
    via erikleorgav2
  • (Son of my great uncle.) This cousin was complaining that: "Kids (and he was meaning those of his kids age 35-45), - these days don't know how to work hard enough to make good money.
    via erikleorgav2
  • Their work ethic is trash. They want everything handed to them without effort." His sister in law then asked: "Don't you have a trust fund?" My father's cousin, since he was 18-20 (not sure which), was gifted a trust fund that paid him $1,500 a month for the rest of his life.
    via erikleorgav2
  • He's now 72, been retired since he was 50. Granted, $1,500 isn't much by today's standards, but it allowed him to get an education, buy a house at an early age, and allowed him to live debt free his entire life.
    via erikleorgav2
  • An older man sits on a couch, studying his phone with a focused expression as an open notebook lies in front of him.
    via Jelena Stanojkovic

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • There's no telling what that trust fund pays him now, all these years later when you consider interest over that many decades.
    via erikleorgav2
  • He didn't have to work when he graduated, but he made investments his father suggested, and because of it he's led an especially good life.
    via erikleorgav2
  • Turbulent-Pipe-4642 What a joke. These people have no idea what the fuck they're talking about from their place of privilege!! What was his reaction?
    via erikleorgav2
  • OP erikleorgav2 Wish I could say, my dad only overheard that part of the conversation.
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  • DrewNumber Two \> $1,500 isn't much by today's standards, Today, for many people that is a life changing amount of money, especially because it is every month for life no matter what, and it's more than the current minimum wage. If he got that much 50 years ago, today that would be $9,055.76/mo, which is $108,669.12/yr. He would pay taxes but not need to set aside anything for retirement. Additionally, housing and education in particular were much cheaper then, even accounting for inflation. Thi
    via erikleorgav2
  • OP erikleorgav2 It would be a lot of money for me, I can say that. But just that per month isn't enough to live off of. You combine it with a normal income, then we're talking potential.
    via erikleorgav2
  • DrewNumber Two If you can't live off of $100k/yr as a single person in the USA who doesn't need to save for retirement then you either live in a high cost of living area, or you have a lot to learn about money management, or both.
    via erikleorgav2
  • OP erikleorgav2 I'm speaking of today's money. Not early 1970s.
    via erikleorgav2
  • DrewNumber Two What do you mean? It's the same amount, just adjusted for inflation. The cousin made the equivalent of over $100k/yr.
    via erikleorgav2
  • OP erikleorgav2 You're thinking narrowly. I'm talking $1,500 in today's money. As to say, getting a trust fund deposit of $1,500 into the bank every month. Not the inflation rate. Who knows what he's making from that trust fund today. I barely know the guy.
    via erikleorgav2
  • smugfruitplate >His sister in law then asked: "Don't you have a trust fund?" ...And then what happened?
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  • OP erikleorgav2 My dad didn't hear any of the conversation after that. Lots of conversations going on.
    via erikleorgav2
  • NubsackJones Let's just say he got it at 20. That's 52 years ago, 1973. The average individual income in 1973 was \~$8k. The average household income was \~$12k. So, in less than 6 months, he got more than the average individual annual wage. In 8 months, he got the equivalent of the average income of an entire household.
    via erikleorgav2
  • fakeprewarbook his inability to perceive and accept how easy he had it goes hand-in-hand with his inflated self-esteem. with such a gift it would have been nearly impossible for him to fail. he lived life with training wheels, wrapped in cotton wool. AND YOU CAN TELL HIM I SAID IT
    via erikleorgav2
  • Olas Nah Even without a trust fund, most people that have solid two parent households of middle class or better income are typically out of touch with anything resembling poverty. The closest they'll ever come is struggling with money as a college student because they're not in regular contact with their parents who would assuredly throw a few hundred bucks their way if it was absolutely needed. But they're always there as a bail out.
    via erikleorgav2
  • Cade Vision Had a buddy with a trust fund tell me with a straight face that he only used it for food and a car while he was getting his master's degree. It wasn't that big a deal.
    via erikleorgav2
  • Old_Still3321 He has a trust fund, so can rec'nize it!
    via erikleorgav2

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family drama inheritance tradition siblings trust fund family feud favoritism Father
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